Sar,

Can you describe the area..i.e. full sun, morning sun w/afternoon shade or morning shade w/afternoon sun? What is the soil like? Wet, dry, acidic? Does it get irrigation?

Once you describe what the planting site is like, that will help determine what kind of plants will do well there.

The house faces north, so this gets a fair amount of both morning and afternoon sun. There's not a lot of shade. The soil is pretty dry, although it does catch all of the run-off from the roof. It's also quite sandy. Currently, there is no irrigation for the bed, but there could be. I'm not opposed to sticking a small sprinkler or soaker hose in the bed.

Thanks!

Sarah :)

Sarah,

Give me a little time and I'll play with your pics tonight (I have a landscape design software I like to play with). I have some neat ideas.

Sarah,

For your front walkway, you want to keep a few things in mind: plants that won't get out of control (you don't want them covering your windows...safety), plants that won't draw blood for guests coming to your front door (no cactus, yucca, sago palms), and plants that will be easy to care for and will thrive in that location.

From you pic, I added a few plants (they're not completely accurate representations in the photos...as the sofware doesn't have plumbago, thyme, etc) that I thought would work for you; they're easy to care for, bring color, height, and a little scent.

From left to right:

- An herb pot with either rosemary, thyme, or oregano. Super easy to grow, can use for cooking, and give an extra layer of sight/scent interaction.

- Lantana: Super easy to grow, no pests, low water requirements, loves full sun, can be cut back if unruly.

- African Iris - Super easy to grow, blooms beautiful white flowers, soft to the touch (won't stab visitors), won't obstruct window, loves either full sun/partial shade.

- Red Pentas - Great colorful annual, butterfly attractor, easy to care for, can be cut back if too unruly.

- Ground cover - Thyme or oregano. These make great ground covers and not only give you something great to smell, you can use them in the kitchen! I use both of these all the time; I'm addicted.

- Vine w/trellis - You need something in between those windows to draw the eye up and break that long vertical wall. I chose bouganvilla (sp?) as you can't kill those things, but they can be a little pain to maintain (thorns). However, you could use mandaville, allamanda, jasmine, honeysuckle...just about any perennial vine. Move the address plaque to the left, on the corner near the driveway; I also think that's were people naturally look for address numbers (or above the driveway).

- More African Irises

- Either a salvia (indigo spires) or a plumbago. Both are a nice plants w/blue flowers that attract butterflies and/or bees. A hibiscus would look nice here too; can cut back if needed.

- Flower pot - Add something that smells nice and gives color. Four-o-clocks are super easy to grow and smell wonderful when they bloom at night. Or maybe a gardenia? The flower pot also adds contrast and structure to your bed. A nice birdbath fountain would be nice here too...a soothing sound of trickling water.

Of course, amend the soil really well before you plant anything and make sure the plants have a regular source of irrigation.

I just noticed that you don't have a gutter on your house. That might be a problem with plants thriving in that bed, as a good downpour will tear/wash even the hardiest plants up by the roots. If you've had problems with that in the past, you should fix that first before planting anything, otherwise you're just throwing money away. It doesn't have to be a full gutter system, just something above that bed that will divert water from pounding your plants.

Whew! Hope these give you some ideas.

{{gwi:910926}}

Hey gardengrl, that really looks great! What design program do you use?

I really like the way the bougainvillea on the trellis looks. Having something tall there is really what that space needs.

I also recommend the african iris. That has to be one of the most low maintenance plants for the Florida garden.

Good job Gardengrl!

I think you're setting yourself up to be the photoshop guru - LOL!!!

Betsy

Here's another angle from the side. I added a little more hardscape (rocks) and a few different plants. The yellow plant could either be a nice coreopsis or maybe a buttercup. The little purple plant near the front could either be a blue daze or maybe a creeping torenia (love those!). The potted plant in the center would still give you that height/color without the hassle of a vine (could use either a standard hibiscus or small crepe myrtle). All the rest are the same plants as above.

{{gwi:910928}}

BTW, I'm using Sierra Complete LandDesigner; it's an old software package, but it's really easy to use. I had to buy mine on Ebay as I lost my old version and they didn't sell it in the stores anymore.

I was playing with Paintshop Pro and came up with this earlier..
I see gardengrl did a much better job, but I'm glad we both had the same idea about the boug and the thyme!
{{gwi:910929}}

You guys are amazing! I hardly recognize my own house!!!

I love the different looks, and the plant suggestions are great. I was also thinking I needed something tall in between the windows, but I didn't think of hibiscus or crepe myrtle. I like the idea of a trellis there too. Have to run all this by DH, make sure he's okay with it (he ususally is, the flowers are my thing ) but these all look lovely!

I know I need to ammend the soil there really well, and I need to do something about diverting the water off the roof. I think that might be the first project. Then I'll get the rest of the plants out of there (I've already thought of a new home for some of them) and get the soil taken care of. That should give me time to save the $$ for the rest of the plants. :)

Again, thank you all SOOO much, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate all your suggestions!